A Shot At Friendship
by SpyroAgain
Summary: Hima has always wanted to be a trainer. Mack has always been told humans are dangerous and can't be trusted. Could a person like Hima and a pokémon like Mack really be so different?
1. Chapter 1

**My first actual chapter story and my second fic! Huzzah! Now... You may or may not notice(probably will) that there is quite a bit of similarity in this and Friend Ball by o-CrystalSakura-o(Now named x-SwiftyGirl-x)... thats because it has a lot of inspiration from Friend Ball... I'm just doing my own take on it... Going in a slightly different direction, you know? Also, I'd like to thank NightFall00 for his OC stories. Though I'm not in one, yet(i did submit my own OC for his stories), they made me feel like writing a story with my own OC in it.**** Okay! On with the show!**

**And because I see everyone else do it I should probably also, just in case... I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

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><p>A shot rang out in the warm summer air and a sudden burst came out of the tree line as a flock of tranquill fled for their lives. A druddigon ran for a small cave and a couple of mienfoos quickly followed behind. Two deerling, who were grazing nearby, camouflaged themselves as they hid in some brush. They nearly jumped as they heard the druddigon angrily bellow, "GRROOOARR! I hate those humans! They're either hunting us or catching us to fulfill their own selfish needs!"<p>

One of the frightened mienfoo looked to the druddigon, "wh-what happened to the tranquill?"

Another shot sounded through the forest. The druddigon growled out, "She's dead... they're all dead... The humans are going to feed on those poor souls tonight."

The mienfoo asked nervously, "but we hunt tranquill... and you hunt them, us and deerling... isn't it the same for the humans?"

The druddigon roared at the mienfoo, "no! We hunt because we need to eat. Humans hunt because they want to eat! They aren't satisfied with what they need, they are gluttenous swalots!" The deerling looked at each other, fear in their eyes.

"If you know what is good for you, you would stay as far away from humans as possible," the druddigon lectured. He then turned toward the brush outside the cave. "Understand, Max?"

The deerling gasped and stepped out from the bushes mareepishly, turning back into its normal green, yellow, and light tan coated appearance. "Ye-yes Kurt."

The other deerling wanted to pretend that Kurt hadn't seen him, but he decided to come out from hiding, knowing better. He too answered, "yes Kurt. We'll stay far away."

The druddigon leered at the second deerling, knowing full well how curious this one was. "For your own sake, Mack, I hope you do." The deerlings cringed. They both used camouflage again and ran off.

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><p>There was a knock at the door as a boy watched his mother rush over to open it. She smiled saying, "hello dear. How did the hunting trip go?"<p>

The man walked over to the table his son was sitting at and layed down his bounty. "It was great! Boldore and I must have each shot down three or four of those things!"

"Dore boldore!" the rock pokémon proclaimed.

"They're called tranquill, dad," the boy said as he stared at the disturbingly still bodies set in front of him.

"Of course they are! And how is my little man today?" he said as he rubbed his hand on the top of the top of the boy's dark hair. "How old are you today? Eighteen? Twenty-seven?"

"I'm fourteen, dad. You know that," he said trying to fix his hair.

"I know, Hima! That's why I brought you a special present!" he said with his hands behind his back.

Hima got excited. "Is it a pokéball?"

His father laughed, "no, no! I told you that you have to wait until you're older!"

"But I am older now..." The boy's brown eyes fell to the ground. "Everyone else in Icirrus City has their own pokémon. You have one and mom too... Why can't I be a trainer?"

"Hey," he said placing one hand on Hima's shoulder, "you aren't ready yet. But you will be." His tone went from serious back to cheery, "but in the meantime, here!" He gave his son a small box filled with pens and pencils of varying colors. "I know how much you like to sketch and your mother told me you were saying you need more supplies!"

The boy nodded saying, "cool."

"And," his dad continued, "just you wait for supper! I went by the market and picked up a few things for a special treat!"

Hima thought, "Combee honey biscuits?"

"Combee honey biscuits!"

"...Cool."

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><p><strong>So I want to point out one thing... I honestly thing the "stupid dad" role is overrated... If I seem like I took that approach, I didn't mean to. I was going for a "normal and serious when need be" dad. Respecting elders ftw! ...Seriously "stupid dad" is just getting annoying now... Also I noticed that the first part of this chapter doesn't exactly explain which pokémon is the main character pokémon but I don't think I need to clarify as it's in the summary. So yeah...<strong>

**Anywho! So... Please tell me if you like it so far! I'm very curious as to how other people think of my work. And for the grammar and spelling nazis... I'm no expert and get annoyed when I see mistakes so rip away!**


	2. Chapter 2

**To o-CrystalSakura-o(Now x-SwiftyGirl-x): thanks for reading the story :D And about the "mareepish" thing, i thought it'd be a little clever X)**

**Here we go with chapter two of A Shot At Friendship!**

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><p>It was early in the morning as the sun shown down through the awning of branches, deep in the forest that surrounded Dragonspiral Tower. Below was a group of deerling and sawsbuck. Some drowsily shook the sand from their eyes, while others were up and eagerly prancing around in the patches of sun. One of the deerling who was filling up on chlorophyll hopped over to one of the sleepy deerling and nudged him saying, "Morning, morning, morning Mack!"<p>

Mack yawned, "Come on Max. I haven't had my tree sap yet."

Max smiling said, "Well hurry up then! Mom said she might let us go play in the tall grass today!"

Mack perked up and looked to the wakening sawsbuck. "Mom, did you really say we could play in the tall grass?"

She looked to her fawns and said, "I'm sorry Mack. I said that to your brother, I would much rather you stay in the tree line where it's safer."

Mack got upset, whining, "But mom! I'm not a little fawn anymore! I'm getting strong enough to defend myself!"

She shook her head. "No Mack. You're not ready yet."

Max frowned, saying, "I'm sorry Mack. I thought she meant the both of us. But at least you won't have to worry about those… humans."

Mack hadn't thought of that, but he was still unsure that he wasn't ready yet. He thought, "Well maybe I can go near the tower. Maybe I'll see that big white dragon pokémon that kurt told us about!" He ran under the green shrubbery growing on his mother's horns and nudged her neck. "Okay mom! I won't go into the tall grass!"

She didn't reply that quickly. "Okay, I know you're up to something but as long as you be careful around druddigons. Understood?"

"Yes mom," he said rolling his eyes.

"Now run along and play."

"Bye mom!" they both said as they headed out.

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><p>"Bye mom! I'll be back before dinner!" Hima said as he headed for the door.<p>

"Don't forget to grab a snack before you leave, Hima!"

Hima looked at the big plate of combee honey biscuits and sighed. "I won't…" he said putting a few in his bag and tossed it over his shoulder. "I'll be at the bridge to the tower!"

His mom walked into the main room. "The Dragonspiral Tower?"

"Yep."

She looked at Hima, concerned, "be careful. There are strong pokémon in the tall grass and the forest."

"Don't worry, I won't go into the grass," Hima assured her as he walked out the door.

Once he got there, he sat down on the bridge and swung his feet above the water. He grabbed a notepad and his new pens out of his bag and watched the swimming underneath the surface. As he began to sketch the basculin though, he heard some rustling come from the trees. He stared at them for a while before he saw a yellow flower and green ears poke out from the bushes. Hima started to stand up and the pokémon fled. Confused as to what just happened, he shrugged and went back to sketching. It wasn't long before he heard the rustling again. This time he ignored it and kept to his picture. After a bit though he looked back up and saw a deerling staring at him. They locked eyes and stared each other down until the deerling simply walked off. Hima figured it must have just been curious and went back to sketching.

All of a sudden the deerling burst out of the trees and started aggressively stamping back and forth, showing off a double kick. Hima crawled backwards, startled and fearing he would be attacked. The deerling then growled and dashed back into the forest. Unsure what just happened, Hima decided it was time to go back home. He stopped momentarily to look into the brush but didn't see anything again, to his relief. At the same time however, he was disappointed. He liked that pokémon, even if it was a bit of an oddball.

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><p><strong>So j<strong>**ust to let you know, this chapter ****took place a few days after chapter one. I'm not too sure myself how others would like the story; everytime I try to get an RL friend to review it for their opinion, they don't feel like it :/ So reviews would be appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I'm not sure just how often I'll be updating... I've gotten about 3 chapters in about a week but i can't guarantee that will always be the case, between 1 computer and 3 people addicted to MMO's... so yeah, I hardly have time to read stories let alone update one. But for now, I can. So on with the show!**

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><p>"You should have seen it Max!" A yound deerling cheered. "I was like, 'go away!' and the human was like, 'oh no! A scary, tough pokémon!' I was awesome!"<p>

Max exclaimed, "wow! You weren't scared of being eaten or captured, Mack?"

Mack shook his head, "no way! I knew I could take him!"

A sawsbuck walked up to the deerlings, "you could take who, Mack?"

The deerling jumped, "Uh… a mienfoo! Yeah! There was this mienfoo trying to pick on me, mom!"

Sawsbuck knew he was lying, but he looked unharmed. So she dismissed the thought and let the two deerlings be.

The fawns sighed in relief. "Psst," Max whispered, "Mack! Do you think the human will come back?"

Mack thought for a second, "I don't know, why?"

"Because," Max said looking around, "You got to show me this human!"

"Uh… Sure! What's the worst that can happen?"

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><p>A few days later, a human boy, by the name of Hima, was eager to get out of the house. "I'm going to the bridge again, mom," he said as he put a notepad in his bag.<p>

"Here, Hima. Take a snack," she offered him a large plate of combee honey biscuits.

"Why does it seem that the more I eat of these, the more there are of them?" Hima thought to himself. "Okay mom."

"And remember," the boy's mother said, "be careful of those wild pokemon. Are you sure you don't want to take palpitoad with you?" The water pokemon walked over, willing to be the boy's guard.

"No, I'll be okay," he said, sure of himself. "I'll be back before dinner!" Hima said walking out the door. He thought to himself, "What's the worst that can happen?"

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><p>The two deerling trotted through the forest. "How much farther, Mack?" one of the fawns asked the other.<p>

"Not far, Max… I think," Mack said unsurely.

Max groaned, "This feels like we've walked all the way around the tower!" Just as he finished whining, a thin clearing with a trail came into view. "Is this it?"

"Shh!" Mack hushed, "keep it down, Max! You're gonna spook the human!" They slowly approached the bushes at the edge of the water line and the trail, peering out at the young boy sitting on the bridge.

"What's it doing?" Max whispered.

Mack shook his head, "I can't tell… He's holding a notepad." The human looked up and the deerling ducked down. "Did he see us?"

Max poked his head out, "I can't tell. He's not looking anymore… Do you think he knows we're here?"

"I think so," Mack said nervously.

Suddenly the boy reached into his bag. "It's a trainer!" Max panicked. "He has a pokeball! Run!" Max bolted deeper into the forest as Mack suddenly smelled something sweet. He looked back at the human and saw it eating something that smelled… good.

The human looked at Mack and Mack hid for a second, but curiosity got the better of him and he peeked back out. The human reached into his bag and pulled out another of those sweet smelling things, smiling. Mack wondered what he was doing, until the boy tossed the thing over to Mack. Mack backed away, but couldn't help but want to find out what it was.

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><p>Hima was excited; he wasn't sure if the deerling would want the honey biscuit. He watched as the little season pokemon cautiously walked out of the bushes. The deerling sniffed at the biscuit and nibbled at it. He chewed it for a second before happily grabbing it and taking it back into the tree line. Hima smiled and brought out another one, eating one for himself. The green fawn looked back at Hima and then slowly stepped toward the biscuit, keeping an eye on Hima the whole time. He then snatched the biscuit up and dashed into the forest. Hima smiled thinking, "…Cool."<p>

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><p><strong>So if i mention it's a different day or season after a page break, then it's a different day or season... if i don't say, then it's the same day as before the page break... Just to be clear... And please review :]<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we go! Another chapter in the story! So I know that the chapters are kind of short, but bare with me. It gets better as it goes along. Anyway...**

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><p>Back in the forest surrounding the Dragonspiral Tower, the deerling Mack was having fun bragging to his brother Max again. "How did you get away? I never saw you behind me." Max asked, surprised and worried.<p>

Mack boasted, "I almost didn't! I had to attack the pokeball and I broke it!"

"No way!" Max said shocked.

"Yeah way!" Mack exclaimed proudly. "I hit it with a faint attack and smashed it into pieces!"

"Whoa," said Max in amazement.

"But," Mack continued, "I wasn't finished with him there! I double kicked him and stole food from his bag too!"

Their mother walked up from behind. "Is that so, Mack?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

Mack nearly jumped out of his skin and nervously turned around. "Uh… yeah, really! Um… See mom? I can take care of myself just fine against trainers!" He tried his best not to make direct eye contact with her.

"Well," she said flippantly, "I must have been wrong about you."

Mack thought she was serious, "so does that mean I can play anywhere I want?"

The sawsbuck laughed, "Not yet. You're still not ready."

"Aww…"

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><p>A few weeks later, the beginning of fall came. The leaves started to change colors on a lot of the trees. And Hima noticed that the color of the deerling that peeked out of the bushes was orange now. Hima pulled a combee honey biscuit from his bag and held it out. The deerling popped out of the bushes and came right up to Hima. Hima thought to himself, "thank goodness that mom makes a lot of these.<p>

The orange fawn ate it right out of his hand and Hima's face lit up. "Never gets old," Hima thought. He reached out to touch the deerling, but it scowled and took a step back. "Okay, you're not ready. At least you aren't threatening me with leech seed anymore."

He pulled out his notepad and started a sketch of the deerling's new appearance. "I'm going to start school really soon. So I won't be coming out here as often as I have been," Hima said, unsure if the deerling would understand. The deerling looked at him in an odd way, leaving Hima wondering if the deerling was either upset or confused.

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><p>Mack wasn't sure what school was, but he was kind of bummed that he wouldn't be getting biscuits. "So, sorry you won't get biscuits," Hima said.<p>

Mack blinked, "You're like a mind reader."

Hima thought for a second and said, "well what about giving you a name? That way you know when I'm here or not?"

The deerling thought, "But I have a name already, it's Mack!"

"What about Mack?"

Mack went wide-eyed. "Okay stop doing that."

"Yeah," Hima said smiling, "I think Mack is just fine." He showed Mack the sketch he did of him. "See? It's you!"

Mack looked at it confused. "Are my eyes really that big? And why am I all line-y?"

Hima pulled out two biscuits from his bag, giving one to Mack and eating the other one. "I should probably get going, I think your friend there wants to hang out with you."

"Who?" Mack looked over and saw Max glaring at him. Mack jumped as Max ducked away into the brush.

"See you later, Mack!" Hima said, walking down the trail toward Icirrus City.

"Oh crap…" Mack ran into the forest only to find Max a few yards in. "Max! Uh… hi!"

Max scowled, "Give me one good reason that I shouldn't tell mom."

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><p><strong>Suspenseful right? ...No, not yet. But soon! ...soon<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Not much to say this time...**

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><p>Spring rolled around and a pink coated Mack was sitting with Hima on the bridge at Dragonspiral Tower. "Here, I got you your honey biscuits," said Hima.<p>

Mack took it, thinking, "yeah yeah." He set the biscuit down, "come on, gimme more."

Hima shook his head, "I still don't understand. You don't even eat them; you just pile them up and carry them off."

Mack scoffed, "yeah and unless you have another mind reading moment, you won't."

Hima smiled and patted the flower on Mack's head, "I'm sure you have your reasons."

Mack growned, "what is it with you and petting me?"

Hima pulled out his notepad, "wanna see the sketch of an emolga I saw while walking home from school yesterday?" He showed the picture to Mack.

"Yeah," Mack said, "it kind of looks like a pokemon... I still don't understand why you show me these." Mack started grabbing the biscuits in his mouth, "Well, it has been fun, but I really gotta get going."

"Oh," Hima said, "you're leaving? Okay, well, bye Mack." Hima started walking back home, completely oblivious to two meinfoo hiding up in a tree. They watched Hima walk to Icirrus city and Mack back into the forest. They looked at each other and dashed off toward the druddigon caves.

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><p>"Hi mom," Hima said walking into the house.<p>

"Hello Hima," his mother greeted him. "Dinner is almost ready."

Hima smiled as he walked over to his father and hugged him. "Hi dad!"

"Hey kiddo!" His fater set his newspaper down to turn around and hugged him back. "You know, you have been unusually happy for quite a while. Did you get the best grades in class?"

Hima laughed, "no dad, I have a cool friend."

Both his parents looked at him surprised. "Really?" Hima's mom asked. "You're making friends at school?"

He turned to his mom, saying, "no, he lives around here."

His dad asked, "does he have a name?"

"Mack," Hima said smiling.

"Well," Hima's mother said, "we're very happy to hear you've got a friend."

Hima nodded, "me too."

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><p>Mack had gotten to about thirty yards of the clearing he lived in and stopped and put the biscuits down. A short time later, Max walked over and started eatting one. "Man," Max said, mouth full, "there is nothing like these anywhere around the forest. I can see how you want them so much. Mack grumbled unhappily. "Hey!" Max taunted, "stop that! You're the one hanging out with humans, mister tough, trainer battler. If you can beat up a human trainer, you can live one more day without your... things."<p>

Mack rolled his eyes, "they're biscuits."

"Whoa! Keep your human talk to yourself! "Max said sarcastically. "I don't care what they're called. You just keep bringing them to me, and I won't tell mom you have a human friend."

Mack scowled, "he's not my fri-"

Suddenly, there was a ruckus from all the deerling in the clearing. Mack and Max went to see what was going on and found the floral sawsbucks protecting the deerlings from a druddigon.

"What are you doing here Kurt?" Mack's mother asked defensively.

"I'm here," the druddigon replied, "to warn you." The sawsbuck and deerling all looked confused. "One of these little fawns," he accused, "might be poisoned."

"What?" A sawsbuck asked, shocked. "And how would you know that?"

"I heard from," Kurt eyed the deerling, "a friend, that a deerling was eatting right out of a... human's hands." The sawsbuck all looked to their fawns worridly. "I want to remind you," he turned directly to Mack, "never... trust... humans!" he roared and then left.

Mack bumped Max, "you told Kurt?" he asked angrily.

Max looked surprised, "No! I swear!" He looked at the panicked sawsbucks. "Boy, I'm sure glad I don't have a human friend."

Mack glared, "yeah, me too."

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><p><strong>So what do you think? The tying things together thing? I thought it'd be cool, and think it'd keep the story together. Tell me what you think?<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**To Zukone Tekarah: I tried to find your profile to message you back but i can't seem to find you anywhere... If there is a way you could tell me how to contact you that'd be awesome. But I must say I'm flattered that I inspire you in your writing and find it interesting as the entire reason I wrote this story was because I was inspired by someone else!**

**Here we go with chapter 6!**

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><p>Before Hima knew it, it was autumn once again and he was starting a new year school. He sat down in class, looking around at all his classmates and their pokémon. He looked from the pokéballs on their belts to his own bare belt. One of the students -a girl by the name of Jessica- saw Hima sulking and walked over to him. "Hey Hima," she said smiling, "you okay?"<p>

Hima turned away, saying, "I'm fine."

Jessica looked around and asked, "so do you have a pokémon?" Hima cringed. "Maybe a family pokémon?" she asked.

Hima looked at her and spoke after a little while, "a boldore and a palpitoad."

"Oh, so you do have pokémon, cool."

"No," he stopped her, "they're my parent's."

Hima could tell she felt sympathetic. "You want your own pokémon, don't you?" Hima turned away again. "Well maybe you can use your parent's pokémon? I think palpitoad is a cute pokémon," she said, trying to somehow cheer him up. The bell rang and she went to go sit down. "Talk to you later, maybe, Hima?"

Hima kept turning so she wouldn't see him blushing nervously. When he calmed down, he turned back around and saw a few guys staring at him. He tried not to look at them, but one of them leaned over to Hima and said, "So you don't have pokémon, huh? What kind of a loser doesn't have pokémon?" The others chuckled like stooges.

Hima thought of Mack, "I could be a trainer... couldn't I?"

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><p>Mack was practicing his jump kick on a tree, causing colorful leaves to fall down, when he heard gunfire. He panicked and accidentally tripped into the tree. He scrambled up and ran away in the direction opposite of where he thought he heard it coming from, as fast as he could. Suddenly, he bumped right into a druddigon. He stumbled back, dazed, looking up to see, "Kurt!"<p>

Kurt leered down at Mack before grabbing him and lifting him up. Another distant bang got both their attentions. Kurt looked back at Mack, "You're lucky that isn't you." He held onto Mack and ran quickly to a safe location. "They're not hunting tranquill."

Mack went wide-eyed, "Are... are they?"

"Yes, Mack. They are." Mack worriedly tried running to the clearing, but was quickly swiped up. "No, Mack! Don't! There's nothing you can do." Mack thought of his mom and brother and started to tear up. "Now do you believe me?" Kurt forced Mack to look him in the eye. "No human can be trusted!"

Mack thought of Hima, "He couldn't be dangerous... could he?"

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><p><strong>So I originally thought this would be a small maybe 6 or 7 chapter story... but now i'm looking at like 15 o.o So bear with me! Attention spans are appreciated! As well as reviews! So please do :]<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

"Is it safe yet?" Mack asked nervously.

There hadn't been any shots fired off for a while and everything seemed to calm down. "Yes Mack. But hurry." Mack dashed off and two mienfoo came crawling out of the shadows. "Keep an eye on him. We may have trouble with that fawn." The two looked at eachother and then sneaked off leaving Kurt to look out into the forest cringing at the thought that humans dared to tread his land.

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><p>When Mack got to the field, he was relieved to see him mom and brother were okay. However he couldn't say the same about some of the others. He saw deerlings crying for family and friends. He approached his brother, "Wh-what happened?"<p>

Max looked shaken, "we were teasing trainers in the tall grass, just having fun taking turns battling their captured pokémon. When suddenly, the trainers all left and some other humans came… I never seen a hunter before; I didn't know who it was. We thought we could take them on, but when one of us jumped out at them, they…" Max couldn't continue.

Mack looked at his mother, "Mom… why? Why would they hunt _us_?"

She tried to calmly say, "Mack, there are some humans that are different than others. They hunt pokémon rather than battle or catch them. And usually they only hunt tranquill and unfeazant. And I thought they'd never come back for season pokémon. But I was wrong. For some reason, they decided it was time again to hunt us. I can't say why, but I can say that it's even more dangerous out there now than it was before. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you both stayed by me."

Mack started to panick, "No… I'm gonna stop this! I don't know how but I'm gonna stop it!"

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><p>Hima sat at the main room table, just thinking over what it would be like to be a trainer. "Hima?" his mother asked as she started making dinner, "Is something on your mind?"<p>

"Mom," Hima asked in a serious manner, "why am I not ready for my own pokémon yet?"

She and Hima's father both looked at Hima. "Why do you ask?" she asked just as serious.

"I'm the only guy at school without a pokémon and I'm being made a joke because of it." He looked at her, hoping she would understand.

"Why haven't you asked me about bringing palpitoad to school, or your father about bringing boldore?"

Hima groaned, "It's not the same! It's different getting your own pokémon! All the kids at school know that!"

"Well," she turned to face Hima, "if I gave you palpitoad's pokéball, wouldn't you be his trainer for that time?"

"Yeah, I guess," He said looking at the floor. "But I want to be able to say that I caught it."

"Hima," his mother said shaking her head, "How am I supposed to know you'll be happy with what you want, if you don't appreciate what you have?"

Hima hadn't thought of that. "But I do appreciate palpitoad and boldore. And I know I'll be happy with the pokémon I'll catch! I've wanted to catch hi-… I mean it, for a long time!" Just then, Hima could smell something somewhat sweet like the coat of a deerling but more bitter. Like blood. He heard a knock at the door and his father went to answer it.

He opened the door, and there was one of his hunting buddies, with his scrafty, holding something that horrified Hima. "Will you look at this little guy? He must have been the biggest on there!" The man said, holding it up higher.

"Dad! Is that a deerling?"

His father turned around and looked to Hima, surprised at his reaction. The man said, "Well, yeah. Us hunters have a special opportunity right now. The ranger doesn't allow us to hunt season pokémon everyday."

Hima ran up to the body, afraid it might be Mack. "Why would you do this? It's a living pokémon just like your scrafty!"

His father was shocked, "Hima, you have to understand that some pokémon are meant to be hunted. It's their place in the food chain."

"Why now?" Hima held back tears. "Why now?"

The man said, "The ranger doesn't exactly allow this kind of thing often, and it won't last forever; the trainers don't like having to leave th-"

"So a trainer can stop this?" Hima looked up hopefully.

"Well, yeah."

Hima jumped up, "see mom? I could save them! I need to be a trainer! To protect the pokémon! I'm gonna stop this!"

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><p><strong>Wow so i just noticed how short these chapters are. But hey! that makes it a short story! Even though it has a lot of chapters its a short story! ...Why is that good? ...I don't know! But whatever!<strong>

**Review please :]**


	8. Chapter 8

**To Zukone Tekarah: I'm really flattered you enjoy my story so much and again I have to give credit to o-CrystalSakura-o for her story Friend Ball that inspired me. But I must say that it would probably be best to not say a friend code on such an easily accessible site. I usually post on weekends, yes. But honestly I post whenever I feel like it... which is usually weekends. Also about the comment you left on my oneshot... "it's her way of writing something," by "her" who are you reffering to?**

**On with the show!**

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><p>Mack was making his way to Dragonspiral Tower, when two mienfoo dropped from a tree in front of him. "Where are you going?" one asked mockingly.<p>

"Off to see that human again?" the other asked.

Mack hesitated. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said trying to walk past them.

The first mienfoo moved in Mack's way and said, "you know that you can't trust humans, right?"

The other circled Mack saying, "that human is gonna trick you. You'll learn the hard way that being friends with humans is bad for you."

Mack snapped, "He's not my friend!"

The first mienfoo grinned saying, "oh! So you mean there is a human?"

Mack growled, "shut up!" and jump kicked the mienfoo before running off.

The mienfoo called out, "You'll be sorry! You'll see! You can't trust humans!"

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><p>At the bridge, Mack was hoping that knowing a human would somehow help him with the problem of the hunters. He met up with Hima, just as usual. "Okay," Mack thought, "now if you really do have mind reading powers, then you'll know that I need your help. The hunters are going after season pokémon and I'm hoping there is something you can do about it!"<p>

Hima was quiet for a while before finally saying, "The hunters are going after deerlings and sawsbucks."

"Okay," Mack said hopefully.

Hima continued, "I don't like it."

"Neither do I," Mack said expectantly.

"Dad," Hima said, "said he would talk to the hunters but that doesn't mean they'll all listen. And I might be able to do something about it myself-"

"Yes!" Mack got excited, "I knew you could help!"

"-If I became a pokémon trainer."

"Well then you shou-…" Mack paused. "Wait, what did you say?"

Hima explained, "A pokémon trainer can protest against the hunting if he uses the area for his training or feels that the specie's population is being threatened."

"Yeah that sounds nice," Mack thought uneasily, "but it sounds like fixing a bad thing with another."

"And I can be that trainer," Hima said, "But I don't have any pokemon or pokeballs of my own."

Mack rolled his eyes, "so I've noticed."

Hima sourly said, "my parents still don't want me to be a trainer yet."

"They sound smart."

Hima said, "They'd rather I use their pokemon."

"They sound like hypocrites."

"But," Hima admitted, "I want my own pokemon. A pokemon that I can feel is my friend, like other trainers feel with their pokemon."

Mack was confused, "how can you feel like friends with your pokemon? I thought training meant using them like tools. Is that some sort of sick joke?"

Hima began to perk up, "like I feel with you, Mack."

Mack blinked, "What?"

Hima smiled, "We're friends, aren't we?"

"We are?"Mack asked, surprised.

"And I want you to be my pokemon, Mack."

Mack was stunned, "me?"

Hima turned and saw Mack's reaction, "you don't want to?"

Mack started walking backwards, "the meinfoo were right... No! I'm not a slave! I'm not your pokemon! And… and I'm not your friend!" He ran back into the brush past the mienfoo who silently cackled to themselves.

Mack could hear Hima shouting, "Mack! Mack, wait!" What Mack didn't hear was, "Wait! …what did I do?"

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><p><strong>So, what now? What do you guys think? I want to know! :]<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**To Zukone: It's cool to know you like my story enough to name one of your pokemon after my characters! And no, I have not heard about this GTS glitch, but there are ways to get lvl 9 legendaries if you use cheats and gamesharks. So that's probably where everyone is wanting them from... as in illegally... well that might be a bit exaggerated but it's not right to cheat.**

**Chapter 9 time!**

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><p>Hima stood at the bridge at Dragonspiral Tower, snowflakes falling in the chilly winter air. It had been a long time since he saw Mack last, but he kept hoping maybe one day Mack would show up again. He looked to the shivering palpitoad standing next to him, remembering what his neighborhood pokemon ranger had told him when he asked about hunting.<p>

"I'm sorry, but being with your parent's pokemon makes it more of a chaperone than it makes you a trainer. And the season pokemon populace seems to be doing fine by my observations. If they were poaching after rarer pokemon like emolga and tabunne, then that would be a different story. But they're hunting a fairly common pokemon and they aren't hunted often to begin with. I'm sorry but because of that and the small amount of trainers in the area, I don't see any real reason to ban hunting these pokemon."

Hima scowled and kicked a stone in the water, causing the basculin to scatter. Sighing, he said, "come on palpitoad, let's go home," much to palpitoad's relief. Hima glanced one last time into the forest. "I'm sorry Mack."

* * *

><p>Mack looked around at the other brown deerling in the tall grass, then up at the sawsbucks overlooking them on a cliff. He walked through the snowy grass over to Max and asked, "Max? Do you ever fear hunters?"<p>

Max seriously said, "All the time. Not as much with mom and the others watching us, but they can't protect everyone all the time. So there's always that fear of, 'what if I'm next?'"

Mack looked down, "well… how far would you go to stop them?"

Max was confused, "what do you mean?"

"Well," Mack said, not making eye contact, "what if you could stop all the hunters… but you had to be caught by a trainer to do it?"

"Everyone would be captured?"

"No!" Mack corrected. "No, just you would be caught."

Max thought about it, "Yeah, I'd do it. If it meant mom and you being safe, I'd totally do it."

Mack was somewhat surprised, "really?"

Max nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready for it. If I have to go through the horrible training so everyone would be safe, then I'd do it."

Both of them jumped when they heard, "training isn't horrible."

"Mom?" Max said. "What would you know about trainers?"

"Your father was captured when you were young," she admitted. "I'd see him and his trainer from time to time. He said that he was being treated fine and that seeing the world was an amazing experience." Mack couldn't believe it. "He never told me he was miserable."

"But," Mack shook his head, "you said that they were dangerous. And Kurt said trainers were abuse."

"I said hunters were dangerous," his mother explained. "And as for Kurt, he's just bitter. His sister was captured by a young girl with large purple hair, and he hasn't let go of the grudge since."

"So," Mack asked almost embarrassed, "If you could get rid of the hunters completely, would you be captured?"

She smiled, "I may be sad not to see you often, but I'd do anything to protect my sons."

Mack couldn't help but feel guilty. He thought to himself, "Great… what did I do?" He looked toward Icirrus City as if he expected to see Hima walking to Dragonspiral Tower. "I'm sorry Hima."

* * *

><p><strong>So I just noticed an error in Chapter 8... so I'm gonna fix that now and hope that it didn'tdoesn't confuse anybody. Sorry!**

**Also, one last note to Zukone: You aren't expected to write a story just because you make an account. I honestly had no plans to write a story when I first joined. It was just to be able to comment on o-CrystalSakura-o's story. And personally I prefer to chat in PM's... it keeps the reviews as... well reviews... you know what I mean? Sorry if that's inconvenient for you.**


	10. Chapter 10

**To family of the geeks: I've tried to put in as much filler as possible to lengthen the story, but I feel that too much just takes away from the main idea. And I don't usually update so soon, but why not? :]**

**To Zukone: Both Deerling and Sawsbuck are my favorites. I love their many forms; it's cool. And it's funny you should say that about Bambi, but you'll have to wait a little while longer for that. There's no real legit way of cheating. My friend has AR but only uses it for fun during ingame play. Not for GTS or competitive battling.**

**Let's see if I can make this any longer than usual!**

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><p>Hima was glad that it was the last day of school before winter break. He'd had enough of the torment from people in his class who thought they were better than him just because they all caught their own pokemon. They would mock, "you need mommy and daddy to catch your pokémon for you, huh?" Hima couldn't wait to get home.<p>

But before he could, his teacher had one last thing to say. "I want you to have fun on your break, but I will inform you that when spring arrives, I expect a presentation on your pokémon. It must include type, regional and national pokédex numbers and information, when and where it was caught, it's ability and nature, and statistics."

Hima groaned, thinking, "I don't know a lot of those things about boldore or palpitoad."

When the teacher dismissed the class Hima made his way for the exit, but was stopped short by some of the guys from his class. "Where do you think you're going?"

Hima sulked, "Well, I was going home, but obviously not yet."

"Nah," the apparent leader said, "you're gonna have some fun with us, aren't you?" The boys grabbed Hima by his bag and dragged him out toward the field next to the school. "You're good at battles are you not?" he joked.

"Wait," Hima put his hands up, "they're my parent's pokémon! I don't want to get them hurt!"

"Oh come on!" some of the boys would urge.

"We're not gonna hurt them. Just rough them up a bit!"

"Besides," the leader said, "You don't have a choice! It's either we beat up your pokémon, or we beat up you!"

Hima suddenly heard a familiar voice. "Come on, Hima!" Jessica shouted. "Don't be afraid! You can do it!" Hima was nervous, but he finally pulled out a pokéball and tossed it into the air, releasing Boldore.

The other boy threw his, saying, "Go, Duosion!" And out of a bright light appeared the green mitosis pokémon.

"Go, Axew!"

"Go, Leavanny!"

"Hey!" Hima cried out, suprised. "I only have two pokémon!"

"Don't you mean you only brought two of your parent's pokémon?" they taunted.

"Hey!" Jessica shouted. "That's not fair!"

But the boys ignored her and focused on the battle, "Duosion, use Reflect!"

"Axew, use Dragon Rage!"

"Leavanny, use Razor Leaf!" The two pokémon attacked the unprepared boldore, leaving him scuffed up.

"Go, Palpitoad!" Hima shouted, unsure of what would happen next. "Boldore, use Stone Edge! Palpitoad, use Hydro Pump!" Both Boldore and Palpitoad stood there with confused looks on there faces. "What? You don't know those moves? My parents have had you how long? And you still don't know them?"

"Duosion, Future Sight!"

"Leavanny, Struggle Bug!"

"Axew, Dual Chop!"

Suddenly, from the sideline, "Whismicott, use Cotton Spore!" And a windveiled pokémon floated in and released spores that clung to the three opposing pokémon, making them struggle to move around.

Hima was shocked to see that Jessica had run over to help him. "What are you doing?"

"Just relax," she said.

"This is ridiculous! Leavanny, Razor Leaf those rock and ground type pokemon!" The nurturing pokémon struggled to get free but was finally able to shoot out an attack, leaving Boldore and Palpitoad in serious trouble.

Jessica realized there wasn't much they could do anymore, "Come on, let's just get out of here. Whismicott, use Tailwind!" The puffball spun around and a sudden whirlwind gave them the speed to make a get away.

"This isn't over!" the boys shouted. "You've got to come back to school sometime!"

Both Jessica and Hima withdrew their pokémon and made their way to a pokémon center. Jessica asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Hima sullenly said, "I guess."

"Ah, come on," she said, trying to cheer him up. "You were out numbered and that wasn't fair." Hima just looked at the ground as they walked. Jessica tried to change the subject, to make him feel better, "how do you feel about the assignment?"

Hima sighed, "let's just say I know more about a different pokémon than these two," he said, holding up Boldore and Palpitoad's pokéballs.

Jessica smiled, "well, maybe you can do your assignment on that pokémon instead."

Hima was confused, "I don't have that or any pokémon of my own though."

Jessica shrugged, "it's a long break. Maybe you'll get your chance." She held out an empty pokéball.

Hima stared in disbelief, "really?"

Jessica giggled, "yup!"

Hima smiled, "th-thank you!" He took the pokéball and put it in his bag.

Jessica had a bounce in her step. "I think that being a trainer isn't a privilege, but a responsibility. Having a pokémon will show everyone that you are ready," she said.

Hima was so glad to know that someone believed he was ready, but suddenly he started thinking about the battle, "am I ready?"

* * *

><p>Mack was feeling uneasy about the issue he had with Hima. He decided that sometimes it's easier to talk to someone you hardly know; it's hard to talk to someone -whose opinion of you- you care about. He made his way up the hill to the top of the cliff, past the sawsbucks watching over the deerling below. He walked a little ways into the forest until he found a small cave with a chilling breeze coming out of it. An odd cone shaped pokémon came out and smiled when she saw Mack. "Well well! Long time no see, Max!" You're no young fawn anymore!"<p>

"Actually I'm Mack," he corrected. "But, yeah," he laughed, "I've had a lot of experiences this past year." He turned serious, "hey, can I talk to you about something?" So Mack told the vanillish about meeting a human and all the things leading up to running away from Hima in the Fall.

Vanillish thought for a moment, then said, "you're not his friend?"

"Well," Mack was hesitant, "not really."

"But," the vanillish asked, "you would hang out with him and eat his food?"

"Yeah…"

"And," she continued, "you trust him enough to ask for his help?"

"I asked for your help," Mack pointed out.

"Well," she retorted, "there is a difference between asking for advice and asking if someone could save your family."

Mack looked down, "yeah, I guess… would you do it? Would you be captured?"

She raised her brow, "I'm not really the one who should be answering that question."

"I know," Mack sighed.

Vanillish smiled, "I think it's just your nerves. It may take some time, but I think you are ready."

Mack blinked, "I… I am?"

"That's the way it sounds to me. If not now, then soon," she assured him.

Mack thought to himself, "am I really?"

* * *

><p><strong>I think this counts for being longer :] Also, this is the first battle I've done. Though it wasn't a long or exciting battle, I think I didn't do half bad... I don't know, what do you think?<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**To Zukone: Yes, Hima is my OC. So is Mack, and Jessica. And Deerling and Sawsbuck are my favorites, but I particularly like fighting types. I really am trying to keep the story interesting with all these cliffhangers and I hope it's working. Also, I love our little conversations, but I think we're getting a little sidetracked from the story. You know... just a little.**

**So I decided, instead of trying to come up with a whole bunch of filler. I'll just post two chapters as one! That way it stays to the main idea, and the chapters are longer. :]**

* * *

><p>A few days later, Hima sat at the main room table and wondered just what would happen during winter break. "What good is a pokéball if you don't have a pokémon to catch it with?" he had thought. He felt like maybe he'd be saving that pokéball forever and never get a chance to use it. But he had to give it a shot. Maybe Mack would finally come back. Maybe he would finally get his chance to be a trainer. And maybe he would be able to say sorry to his friend.<p>

He didn't want to waste a single opportunity. Maybe the day he didn't try is the day that Mack would return! So he started to hurriedly eat his lunch, so he could rush out the door. His parents were astonished, "Hima," his mother said, "slow down! What's the hurry all about?"

Hima gulped down his food and said, "I'm… just eager to go sketch a golett! Yeah! I haven't actually gone into the tower yet, and I want to!"

Hima's father wasn't buying it. "Oh, okay. So is Golett the pokémon you're going to try catching?

Hima gulped down his nerves. "Uh… what?"

His mom smiled and said, "well, that's what you're going to use your pokéball for, right?"

Hima was surprised, "I… Well… How did you know?"

"Please," she chuckled, "I'm your mother. I know more about you than you think I do." Hima was confused. "Also, I'm friends with Jessica's mother. She told me what Jessica did."

"Oh," Hima said, embarrassed.

"And," his mom continued, "I'm happy to know she felt you were ready." Hima eyed her, hopeful. "Because I agree."

Hima lit up, "really?"

"Yes Hima," she said happily.

"Now," his dad said, "I may not know what kind of pokémon Mack is," Hima was dumbfounded at just how much they picked up on, "but I can't wait to meet him."

Hima jumped up, grabbing his bag and said, "Thanks dad. Thanks mom."

* * *

><p>Mack was feeling sort of jealous. His brother, Max, had just evolved into a sawsbuck yesterday, and Mack was wondering if maybe having a trainer would help him evolve. He couldn't stop thinking about the pro's and con's of being captured. "Do I really trust Hima? Do I really need Hima? Am… I his friend?" His regret of running away from Hima that day in autumn grew deeper.<p>

His mother came over to him, "What's troubling you Mack?"

Mack tried to act calm and collected, "Nothing, I'm just thinking."

"Is it about your human friend?"

Mack felt his heart jump into his throat. "What? How did you know?"

She laughed, "I'm your mother. You can't hide anything from me." Mack felt embarrassed. "Also, I followed you to when you went to talk to Vanillish." Mack felt stupid. "And you seem to have had some time with this trainer. It sounds like you've grown close to him."

Mack was still uneasy, "Mom… what if I'm supposed to go with him? What if I'm supposed to be a captured pokémon? If Hima was right, that we can stop the huntings?"

Mack's mom smiled, "It's all up to you, Mack. You have to do what you feel is the right thing to do."

Mack knew she would say that. He also knew what was right. "I think I know what I have to do."

He started to walk off when his mother called to him, "Mack?" He turned to her and she said, "I may not have met Hima, but I trust that he and you will do what's right."

Mack smiled, "Thanks mom."

* * *

><p>Two mienfoo looked at eachother, then back at the fawn prancing away from the herd of sawsbuck and deerling. "He's gonna go to that human again!" the taller one sneered to the other.<p>

"We gotta tell Kurt!" the other hissed back.

"We can't!" the tall mienfoo scoffed back. "He's asleep! If we wake him up for this he'll take his rage out on us first!"

"Then," the shorter asked, "What do we do?"

The tall one thought for a second and then dashed through the snowy brush. "Come on! I think I know what to do!"

The two devious mienfoo made their way to a small cave in the side of a hill where they spotted a beartic caring for her cubchoos. "What are we doing here?" The shorter of the two asked, watching as the taller mienfoo started creeping towards the cave.

"I don't exactly know yet. But just go with it!" the tall one quietly explained. He snuck up on the sleuth and grabbed a cubchoo by the paw. "Run!" he panicked as they both fled for the forest.

"Momma!" the little chill pokémon cried out to the enraged beartic giving chase.

* * *

><p>Hima was rightfully skeptical that he'd find Mack at the Dragonspiral tower bridge. After all, he'd been waiting for Mack to show up again since Fall. But he had to try. He stopped in his tracks when he saw, down the path, a brown fawn walking out of the woods and toward the bridge. "Mack!" Hima shouted, running after the deerling. The deerling perked it's ears and turned around to reveal that it was indeed Mack! Hima ran up to him and stopped a few feet away. The brown fawn stared at Hima and Hima stared back.<p>

He saw a look on Mack's face like he expected something from Hima. Hima reached in his bag, "I got something for you." He pulled out a combee honey biscuit and Mack smiled. Hima tossed it to Mack, but he let it hit the snow at his feet. He looked back at Hima. "You're here for more than just biscuits," Hima said with a chuckle. He walked onto the bridge and sat down and Mack walked next to him. Hima watched the snow dissolve as it fell on the water and asked, "did I do something wrong to make you so upset?" The way Mack acted made Hima think that Mack thought it wasn't Hima's fault. "Well, I still feel the need to apologize. Something I said upset you, and I think I know what it was."

There was a long pause before Hima asked, "You're not here for that reason, are you?" They just looked at each other for a while. "I got a pokéball as a present from someone," Hima said as he looked back out at the water. Hima could sense something from Mack. "But if you don't really feel ready, there are plenty of other pokémon." Mack looked at Hima, furrowing his eyebrow. "I could get a boldore like my dad, a palpitoad like my mom, "Mack furrowed even more, "or even a stunfisk."

And just then, from the look on Mack's face, Hima felt like he could almost hear Mack saying, "You're really gonna choose a stunfisk instead of me?"

Hima laughed, "No, I'm not much for electric type pokémon. But," Hima turned serious, "I truly think I could do something to help this forest. I want to be a trai-" Suddenly, they were interrupted by a large commotion coming toward them from the forest.

* * *

><p>Mack and Hima heard loud rustling. Sounds of something loud making its way towards them. But Hima couldn't hear what Mack could. Yells and struggles of pokémon. "Keep running!"<p>

"How much further?"

"Momma!"

Suddenly, two mienfoo burst out from the brush holding a little cubchoo. They ran at Hima and Mack and dropped the cubchoo between them. "Ha!" one of them cackled. "You're done for now!"

"Momma!" the cubchoo cried.

"What are you doing?" Mack asked, panicked.

Just then a large beartic ran out from the trees and roared at them all. Mack and Hima screamed out in fear as the mienfoo pointed at them, shouting, "it was the human! He stole your baby! He did it! Get him!"

"He did what?" Mack freaked out as the beartic growled and stepped onto the bridge.

* * *

><p><strong>What now? Is it going to be another chance for me to do a wouldbe epic battle scene? Is it the end of Hima and Mack? Am I going to shut up? ...Well at least that last one is a yes... Reviews would be lovely :]<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**To o-CrystalSakura-o: I'm so glad to see you're enjoying the story! It means a lot to me! Thanks for the notes on the grammar, I'll try and look things over again at some point. Hima isn't japanese... It's short for Himalaya, so technically it's... nepalese? It makes sense that pokémon would be hunted in that world, the same way animals are hunted in our world.**

**To Zukone: The battle scene wasn't supposed to be too long, but I think I can lengthen it a little... it was like one or two attacks long originally... so yeah! Also, I'm flattered once again that you feel my story is so epic! And who knows... I MIGHT be working on a sequel... I might not be... we'll just see won't we?**

**To family of the geeks: Yes! Longer chapters! ...Well, actually, two chapters squished into one, but I did add SOME filler in there.**

**Hurray for moderately quick updates! On with the show!**

* * *

><p>Mack panicked as the beartic approached, breathing ice claws onto her paws. Mack shouted, "Hey! Listen! They're lying! It wasn't him, it was them!" But the beartic took another step closer. Without thinking, Mack jumped in front of Hima, "Don't do it! I… I know Energy Ball and I'm not afraid to use it!" he threatened.<p>

The beartic walked right in front of Mack, looked down at him and said, "Quiet, or you'll get it, Bambi!" And stepped right over Mack… And to Mack's surprise, she only pushed Hima out of the way.

Confused, Mack looked passed the momma freezing pokémon to see the two mienfoo defensively waving their arms as the little cubchoo pointed at them, saying, "scary pokémon! Scary pokémon!"

The short mienfoo yelled out, "This was your plan?"

The other said, "It sempt like a good idea in the moment!" They both quaked in fear as the mother came after them. "Quick! Follow Me!" Suddenly, the taller mienfoo force palmed the beartic, knocking her down and shocking the other mienfoo. "Come on!" he shouted as they jumped over the paralyzed freezing pokemon.

"Hey!" Mack said jumping in their path. "You got a lot of nerve kidnapping, framing, and attacking people out of the blue!" he said, as he released an aroma from the flower on his head.

"And you've got a lot of stupid, making friends with the enemy!" one of the mienfoo said, pointing at Hima who was struggling to keep up with all that was going on around him. "Kurt warned you not to trust humans. They don't belong here!"

Mack growled back, "not all humans are the same!"

The short mienfoo threatened, "get out of our way before we-"

"Graaaaaa!" the taller mienfoo ran at Mack readying a drain punch.

But Hima reacted quickly. "Mack, Jump Kick!" Mack jumped up and the mienfoo stopped in its tracks just in time to see a hoof coming down right at his face. Mack kicked the mienfoo back, but the shorter one was already shooting a swift attack his way, striking Mack and distracting him from the other mienfoo who ran up and doubleslapped Mack to the ground. Mack shot an energy ball to knock the mienfoo off of him. "Mack!" shouted Hima, "look out!" but it was too late as Mack saw the other mienfoo readying a force palm with no time for Mack to react.

Mack fell to ground again and could only lay there and watch as the two mienfoo walked up to him and laughed. The taller one threw his hand back, ready with a drain punch. "This is for all the pokémon of the forest you betrayed."

But before he could throw down the strike, a whirl of snow blasted past Hima and over Mack, slamming into and freezing over the two mienfoo. They both struggled and mumbled in the ice until they heard loud footsteps behind them. They looked up to see two frozen paws above them. The paws simply twitched, making the icicles on the claws come crashing down on their heads, causing them to flinch and dislodge from the bridge. The blocks of ice they were frozen in slipped right into the water and floated away as they mumbled out screams of panic and pain.

The beartic grabbed her little cubchoo, saying to Mack, "thank you so much for helping to save my baby. If it weren't for your blizzard, then I don't know what would have become of him."

Mack was confused. He thought, "but I don't know Nature Power…" Just then, he saw –in the corner of his eye- a white horn sticking out from behind a tree, but ignored it for the moment.

The beartic and cubchoo went on their way and Hima was still trying to make sense of it all. "I've got to say," he began, "that was pretty cool how you helped that beartic with your aromatherapy."

"Aw, it was nothing," Mack thought.

"And it looks a lot like we do make a pretty good team," Hima continued. Mack looked up at Hima as he said, "We did a pretty good job at helping those pokémon. And I'm sure you and I both feel like we could do a lot more helping out here."

Mack smiled. "Yeah… Yes we could."

"Would you help me help them?" Hima said. He looked right into Mack's eyes and asked, hopefully, "would you be my pokémon?"

Mack stood ready for capture and said, "only if you'll be my trainer."

Hima smiled, "cool." He reached for the pokéball in his bag. However, "Uh-oh…," Hima said uneasily. "I think I forgot it at home."

Mack sighed, "really? You're serious?"

Hima stammered, embarrassed, "Um… I guess I'll go get it. I'll be right back! Stay here!"

As Hima ran back to Icirrus City, Mack walked into the bushes and found a sawsbuck. "Hey Max, thanks for that blizzard."

Max stared at Mack for a while before saying, "I didn't know you were serious when you asked about being a captured pokémon."

"Well," Mack said with dodgy eyes, "I wasn't totally serious because I was the one who was gonna be caught, not you."

"I realize that Mack. But I just don't understand why you would do this," Max said with a scowl.

"You didn't see a problem with it when you were the one gonna be captured. And you don't understand because you don't know how much I could help others!" Mack pleaded.

"'Help others'?" Max said, shaking his head. "What about helping mom?"

Mack raised his brow. "It will help mom! It'll help everyone! It's gonna keep them safe!"

"What about you?: How am I supposed to know you'll be safe? Do you know how upset it would make mom if something happened to you?"

Mack started to get agitated, "I can fend for myself just fine!"

Max stomped his foot, "and how am I supposed to believe that? You made up those stories about beating up a trainer, I saved you in your own fight. How can I believe you, Mack?"

Mack growled, "Yeah, you did fight my battle. If you'd let me handle it, you would have seen that they never stood a chance against me! But you'd never know it because you didn't give me that chance!"

"Fine!" Max yelled. "You want a chance?" He walked right up to Mack and got in his face. "Take one." Mack stepped back, shocked. "You can't even step up against me, how are you supposed to fight a human hunter?" Max turned around and started walking away.

"Max!" Mack called out, shaking from frustration. "Wait! It's not that simple! I don't have to fight to stop hunters! I'll show you Max! I'm gonna stop it! I will!" Max started to run off and Mack chased after him. "Wait, Max!"

The last thing either of them heard was the sound of the cocking of a gun and Hima's father screaming, "wait! No!"

* * *

><p>Hima ran through the door and reached for the pokéball sitting on the counter. "Hima!" He was startled when he heard his mother's voice. "Hima, you're safe!" She ran over and hugged him.<p>

Hima was confused, "of course I am." He had no reason to think she might have known about the mienfoo. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your father is out looking for you. He heard from the other men around here that there was a visitor out here looking for a trophy from a season pokémon," she said, watching the expression on Hima's face drop.

"Mack...," Hima started to panic, "Mack!" Hima ran out of the house. Almost immediately, a shot rang out in the crisp winter air.

* * *

><p><strong>Another cliffhanger! Evil! ...And it'll probably be awhile before I update! Because I have an art project I'm working on! Even more evil! Who was shot? How will it impact Hima? You'll just have to wait to find out!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**I HAD had a written first draft of this chapter somewhere... but I lost it... So let's see if this is any good with me winging it! Here we go!**

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><p>*Some time later*<p>

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><p>Hima's father finished placing a marker on the grave and stood up next to Hima. He wrapped his arm around Hima's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, Hima. I did what I could to stop it in time, but I was too late."<p>

Hima stared down at the grave and said, "Why? Why did this happen?"

His father looked out into the woods and said, "I don't know, Hima. Sometimes bad things just happen."

"But why?" Hima asked, not taking his eyes off the grave.

"I don't know. It's just the way life is, Hima," he said with a rough sigh.

"Why did it have to happen to him though?" Hima asked, with tight fists.

"Sometimes," his father said with a slight shrug, "bad things happen to people we care about."

Hima stared intently at the grave. "It's hard," he said hoarsely.

"Yes," his father said, "it is. It's not easy to take, but it's something we all have to face some time or another."

"It's not fair though," Hima said with a whisper.

"I know it isn't. It's not easy on anyone, Hima," his father said, rubbing Hima's shoulder. "Bad things affect more people than the people they happen to."

"Like a friend?" Hima said, looking up at his dad.

"Or a brother?" Mack thought depressively.

"Yes, Hima. Friends and family alike. But they can still get through it with time."

"That's easy for you to say," Mack thought with a scoff.

"I'm so sorry, Mack," Hima said, looking down at the sad fawn. "I know he was someone important to you." Mack only stared at the ground. Hima wasn't sure what to say. He thought for a moment and then, "But… Bad things don't have to keep happening." Mack blinked and looked up at Hima. "This doesn't have to happen again. Me and you, we can put a stop to this."

"…Really?" Mack thought. "This is your moment to segway into this? Right now?"

Hima could see the irritation in Mack's eyes. "I… I'm sorry. It's too soon. I just thought that maybe this bad thing would make you want to take action before any other bad things could happen."

"This is more than just some bad event," Mack thought, shaking his head. "It's a horrible event, and I really can't just go running around risking my life too. That would devastate mom if she found out we were both dead. I'm sorry, but this really is the worst time to ask me this. I need some time to clear my head."

Mack began to walk off. "Mack, wait!"

Hima's father placed his hand on Hima's shoulder, "give him some space. I'm sure that when he's ready, he'll be back." Hima looked at his father then back to Mack as he disappeared into the brush.

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><p>Hima wasn't too excited about going back to school. He would be even less thrilled if he ran into the boys from his class, especially if they decided to pick a fight with him again. Luckily the first person he ran into was a friendly face. "Hey Hima!" Jessica called out as she walked up to him. "How was your break?"<p>

Hima kept on walking. "Well it was… memorable."

Jessica kept pace and asked, "so does that mean you got a new pokémon to show us all during presentation?"

Hima was silent, but the silence was cut short as the bell soon rang. They both ran off to class and Hima was eager to just get through to the end of the day. The teacher called attention to the front of the class, and a boy sitting next to Hima called attention to him. "Hey, Hima, we didn't finish our battle. Don't you wanna make mommy and daddy proud of their son and pokémon?"

Hima rolled his eyes and groaned. "I'm not going to battle you. I don't have to prove anything to you guys to show I'm a good trainer."

"You're no trainer," he taunted with a chuckle. "You're just a kid without a real pokémon."

Hima slouched in his chair. "I have pokémon. They're my parent's pokémon but I still have pokémon. I'm no worse of a trainer for that than you are."

"Yeah," the kid scoffed, "you are. You don't belong at this school. It's for trainers, not wannabes."

Hima was already ready for another school break. He didn't want to be somewhere that he felt unwanted. But a glance out the window perked his interest. He saw a white furred season pokémon looking at him from outside the building. "Sir, could I be excused?" he quickly asked. Once excused, he made his way out of the building and quietly called out to the sawsbuck to come to a more hidden area.

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><p>Hima came out of the building and quietly beckoned the sawsbuck to a more secluded area. "Mack?" he asked hopefully, "Is that you?"<p>

Mack smiled. "No, it's Zekrom… Of course it's me!"

Hima lit up and asked, "What happened to you?"

"What?" Mack thought. "A guy can't evolve?"

Hima looked both happy and confused, "what are you doing here?"

"Well," Mack thought in a sarcastic tone, "I was taking a little stroll and thought I'd drop by and say 'hi.'"

Hima asked, "Did you follow me all the way here?"

Mack raised an eyebrow. "Not at all! It was just a coincidence that I came all this way alongside you in the tree line. Maybe it was you that followed me."

Hima started to look a little concerned. "Mack, this is a trainer's school. Pokémon are required to be in pokéballs unless their trainers have explicit permission to have them out."

Mack shook his head. "Of course they do."

Hima looked at Mack with anticipation in his eyes. "Do… Are you… Does this mean that you want to be in a pokéball? Because if you don't, I'd understand. But you'd have to leave before somebody saw you."

"What?" Mack laughed. "No, I hear pokéballs are quite nice this time of year… Man, I'm really being sarcastic today." Mack turned serious. "What do you think I'm here for? I thought things over, talked with a few people and my mom… I think this is what's best for everyone, especially you and me. I got to avenge my brother's death somehow, don't I?"

Hima smiled and asked, "So... do you want to be my pokémon?"

Before Mack had a chance to respond in any way, someone seemed to have found them out. "Well, well, well! Look at what we found!"

Hima was shocked to see a group of guys from his class walking over. "How did you get the teacher to dismiss you all? That doesn't seem right."

The leader jeered, "What do you care? Besides, there are other matters at hand. It looks like mommy and daddy got a new pokémon for the wannabe trainer."

Hima was done dealing with these kids. "He's not my parent's pokémon, so just knock it off."

"What?" one boy asked, surprised. "You mean that's your pokémon? I don't believe it! If it's really your pokémon, then call out to it and make it walk over to you."

Hima looked to Mack expectantly, "…Mack?"

Mack stood there for a moment before shaking off any doubt. "Alright, alright. I'm coming, Hima." He walked over to Hima and looked to the boys who watched in disbelief. "Happy now?"

Hima smiled up at Mack and Mack smiled back. "He is a trainer!" one of the boys called out.

Hima looked back to the gang of misfits. "See? I do have my own pokémon. Now will you just back off?"

"Not a chance!" the leader called out. "You still owe us a battle!"

Hima started to get frustrated, "We have to get back to class. There's no time for a battle."

"There's always time for a little battle! It's just a quick one on one battle. In fact, we won't let you leave until we do!" they threatened.

Hima sighed, "Mack?" he said looking up at him. "Do you feel like having your first official battle as a trainer's pokémon?"

Mack shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

Hima looked back to the guys and said, "Fine, but if I win then you got to promise to stop acting like you're better than me."

They all laughed. "If you win, huh? Well in that case we'll never bother you ever again!"

The leader stepped up and grabbed his pokéball. "Are you ready for this? I'm gonna warn you, I've only lost to the better graded students, so you better know what you're doing."

Hima laughed, "well then, it's a good thing I actually do my work."

The boy growled out, "Go, Duosion!" And out came a green floating mitosis pokémon. "Quick, use-"

Suddenly, out of nowhere Mack was struck into a wall. "Ow…"

"Hey!" Hima shouted, "You said this was a one on one battle!"

The leader laughed, "it is! That was Future Sight!"

Hima was shocked, "Could that move really have lasted this long?"

"I don't think that counts as my turn," the opposing kid said, smiling. "Duosion, use Psyshock!"

The duosion glowed purple and blasted a blue ball of energy at Mack. "Mack!" Hima warned. "Look out!"

But before Mack could react, he was struck, throwing him back at the wall again. "Okay, not cool! Hima! Tell me to use Megahorn!"

Hima stood there, thinking over what he'd learned about season pokémon's attacks. "Mack, use Faint Attack!"

Mack groaned, "Of course, when I need you to read my mind, you don't." Mack got up and dashed –full of dark energy- at the duosion. He stuck it and it flew onto the ground.

"Ouch!" the duosion said in pain. "Is that the best you got?" it raspingly taunted.

The leader of the group of misfits called out, "Duosion, use Telekinesis!"

The mitosis pokémon laughed and it's eyes glowed green. Then Mack started to float in the air. "Hey! What are you doing?" he panicked.

Hima started to get worried, "Mack, it's not over yet! Use Energy Ball!"

Mack started shooting green orbs at the duosion, but the duosion would just float out of the way. "You'll have to do better than that!" it cackled.

"Duosion, use Hidden Power!" the other trainer called out. The duosion shot out a blast of energy and it struck Mack… but it only made Mack twitch.

"Hey," Mack laughed, "cut that out!" The duosion was shocked that it did hardly anything to Mack. Then, Mack started to feel the grip of the telekinesis weakening. "Come on!" he shouted to Hima. "Say 'use Megahorn!' Quickly!"

Hima looked into Mack's eyes and realized Mack knew what to do. He started to slowly say, "Mack, use…" he saw Mack lowering his horns and Hima remembered two moves Mack might be readying to use. He made his best guess, "-Megahorn!"

Mack smiled and as soon as he felt himself falling, he ducked his head down and directed himself toward the duosion. He landed on the ground with a running start and flew into Duosion. "Take that, you little green blob!" The mitosis pokémon went tumbling to the ground and only let out a gruff sigh before collapsing. Mack exhaustedly said, "hey, I did it!"

Hima shouted out, "Mack! We did it!"

"'We?' Oh! Yeah, we did it." Hima ran over to Mack and hugged him. "Okay, okay! I get it, huzzah and stuff. Let go of me!" he thought as he tugged away.

The group of boys all looked at each other, stunned. "…I swear you had him," one boy said.

"Yeah, you looked like you were doing great," another said.

The leader stood there, eye twitching. "No way! There's no way you beat me! You cheated somehow!"

Hima looked over to the guy. "I'm not the one who attacked twice in one turn."

The kid growled, "Fine! Take your win! It doesn't prove anything. You're still just a dork." He begrudgingly stormed off and the others followed.

Hima looked at Mack. "You look pretty tired. If you want there is a pokémon health office that we can stop by."

Mack raised an eyebrow. "This is just a way to coax me into a pokéball, isn't it?"

Hima laughed, "I'm not sure what you're thinking, but I'm not kidding. I think we should heal you up before doing anything else." Hima pulled out the pokéball. "Here it is."

Mack looked at it inquisitively. "Huh. I thought it'd be bigger." Hima pressed the button on the ball and it grew. "…Okay, that was weird."

Hima looked up at Mack. "Are you ready?" he asked with a smile.

Mack smiled back and thought, "As I'll ever be."

Hima smiled and said, "Cool," and wrapped his arms around Mack's neck again.

"Would you knock it off with the hugs? I get it, we're friends. Now stop!" he thought, shaking Hima off of him.

As Hima stood back –pokéball in hand– Mack suddenly realized what he had just said and it threw him down memory lane. He remembered the first time Hima gave him a biscuit, watching Hima sketch pictures of pokémon, defending him at the bridge. And all that and more made him truly understand. "We're friends."

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><p>Hima walked into the class room and the teacher looked at him curiously. "Hima, glad you could rejoin us. You were out for quite a while."<p>

Hima stuttered, "Um… Yeah, I just thought I'd stop by the health office and get my pokémon," he tried to hide a smile, "healthy for presentation."

The teacher scolded, "Although that was smart to think of your pokémon, that was something you could have done before class. Please take your seat."

"Yes sir," he said as he walked over to his spot with the boys who sit near him looking at him, irritated. The teacher continued on with his speech and Hima leaned forward toward Jessica. "Psst!" he whispered. "Hey Jessica!" She turned slightly in his direction. "I was thinking that maybe you would want to hang out after class? I know a place that's pretty cool."

She smiled and said, "Sure, Hima. I'd love to!"

Hima smiled and said, "I could show you a pretty cool tower."

"Ahem," the teacher loudly coughed. "Hima! Is there something you'd like to share with us?"

Hima –embarrassed– said, "No sir."

"Good," the teacher said, turning toward the rest of the class. "If there is nothing else worth speaking up about, we should begin the presentations. We'll start with introductions."

As the students stood up and presented their pokémon, Hima started to think over everything that's happened over the last year.

A student stood up and said, "This is my pokémon, Krokorok," as Hima remembered how crazy Mack seemed to be the first time he encountered him.

Another student said, "This is my pokémon, Trubbish," while Hima thought of the first time Mack let him pet the flower on his head.

Yet another student introduced their pokémon, "Klang." Hima thought of all those times that he and Mack would sit at the bridge, just hanging out. And it comforted Hima to be reassured of something he'd believed all along.

"Hima?" the teacher asked. "Please introduce us to your pokémon."

Hima took out his pokéball, tossed it to the ground, and out came a sawsbuck, standing proud. "This is Mack… and he's my friend."

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><p><strong>Wow... Last chapter was REALLY long... I hope you guys like that! :] ...I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say now that the story is all done and over with... "Tada?" "And that's the show?" ...I don't know... whatever... Hope you all enjoyed it! I had fun writing it and I hope you all had fun reading it.<strong>

**I now have introduced the sequel to A Shot at Friendship, Diamond Eyes! If you enjoyed this I hope you check out the sequel!**


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